“Instead of confronting him and making an intervention, I thought, ‘I can’t allow this person to control me.’ I wish we’d had the skills to help him”: The tragedy of Spirit prodigy Randy California

Randy California, Night of the Guitar, Vooruit, Gent, Belgium, 06/04/1989. (Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images) — (Image credit: Getty Images)

In 2018 original Spirit bassist Mark Andes looked back on the band’s frustrating career, regretting that he hadn’t been able to provide more help and support for wayward guitarist Randy California – who never achieved the levels of success he clearly deserved.

Undoubtedly the pinnacle of Spirit’s catalogue is the 1970 album Twelve Dreams Of Doctor Sardonicus, which strides boldly across genre barriers to create a dizzying kaleidoscope of beautiful noise. Featuring their best‑known song, Nature’s Way, it addresses big themes like humanity, mortality and environmentalism – and uses a Moog to boot.

“Yeah, that one is special,” agrees peak-era bassist Mark Andes. “It’s not only the most successful and iconic of the Spirit albums, it’s also Randy California’s masterwork, his most wonderful statement.”

The teenage Randy Wolfe played in Jimmy James And The Blue Flames with Jimi Hendrix. When Hendrix left for London, he wanted California to come along, but his parents insisted he finish school. Still only 16, he joined Spirit, and the quintet were signed in 1967.

“It was a special time and we were right in the arc of that moment,” Andes recalls. “Spirit started spontaneously – we were one of the more ‘real’ bands. And Randy was the reason we existed; the keystone. He was just a kid, a prodigy, and we were blown away when he wanted us to play with him.

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“It was a magical time; very cool. Randy’s uncle owned one of the venerable folk/blues venues, The Ash Grove on Melrose. Rising Sons had been a big band in LA, and we had contemporaries like The Byrds, Kaleidoscope with David Lindley…”

Things began well enough, with albums like The Family That Plays Together and Clear, and the soundtrack to Jacques Demy’s film Model Shop mildly warping the West Coast sound. But by the time they reached their glorious out-there pomp on Twelve Dreams Of Dr Sardonicus, trauma and tension were rife. The band weren’t getting the big shows they felt they deserved, and the lack of commercial success was niggling.

“It broke Randy’s heart, really,” says Andes. “The sad thing was he had the responsibility of being the family’s provider. What really made things dramatic was Randy’s accident. He fell off a horse, which he was riding on a paved street. He fractured his skull; got a concussion. He didn’t follow doctor’s orders, and we were all doing a lot of drugs and psychedelics, and a lot of coke. A lot.

“It was a highly charged time, and I’m not sure Randy’s wiring came back altogether. So not only was there all this drama, but we happened to be making a fucking brilliant record! One of those peak energy things, I guess…”

The residual Spirit split in 1973, but California revived the name later in the decade. It fell to pieces after keyboardist John Locke invited Neil Young to play guitar on a concert encore – and California, sensing his turf threatened, shoved Young offstage in full view of the audience.

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Spirit would reform in various incarnations, but they were a wounded beast. Andes says he urged California to give the band a rest and “get working on your solo thing – how can they miss you if you won’t go away? But… it just didn’t work out that way.”

He recalls his personal breaking point: “We were scheduled to tour Japan. It was a big deal for us; we were so excited. But the night before we were set to fly, Randy informs us he doesn’t want to go – it’s off. Instead of confronting him and making an intervention of some kind, I just thought: ‘I can’t allow this person to control me like this.’ And it brought up issues within me that took a long time to resolve.”

“Looking back, I wish we’d had the skills to help Randy through that period, rather than just running away from it. Jay Ferguson and I leaving really dealt a blow to the band. Not having success, okay; but for Randy, well… it would’ve been so much nicer to make some money. We were all in debt.

California stumbled on until he drowned in a surfing accident off Hawaii in 1997, aged 45.

Asked if Spirit were a progressive rock band, Andes has no hesitation. “I see us as being one of the first progressive bands. By including jazz as well as psychedelics in our style, among the various languages we used through the songs to communicate, we were definitely progressive. We didn’t call ourselves that, back in the day, and it took a while to have that perspective. But yes, I’m sure we were.”

Chris Roberts has written about music, films, and art for innumerable outlets. His new book The Velvet Underground is out April 4. He has also published books on Lou Reed, Elton John, the Gothic arts, Talk Talk, Kate Moss, Scarlett Johansson, Abba, Tom Jones and others. Among his interviewees over the years have been David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Bryan Ferry, Al Green, Tom Waits & Lou Reed. Born in North Wales, he lives in London.

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